Darkest Redemption
by PurpleKnightShade
Summary: AU. Harry didn't go to Hogwarts, he went to Stonewall High. On his 17th Birthday, he gets a visit from Remus Lupin which changes his life. Then, he sends a letter to a certain Dark Lord. Will he be redeemed and repay his sins or shall the Wizarding World be torn apart by war once more. Ron/Ginny/Molly/Dumbledore Bashing.


**Disclaimer:** Sadly enough, Harry Potter is the property of JK Rowling, not mine. If it was mine I'd currently be sailing round the world on a pirate ship rather than sitting writing fanfiction.

**Summary:** AU. Harry didn't go to Hogwarts, he went to Stonewall High. On his 17th Birthday, he gets a visit from Remus Lupin which changes his life. Then, he sends a letter to a certain Dark Lord. Will he be redeemed, and repay his sins or will the wizarding world be torn apart by war once more.

**A/N: **This is an A/U fic from the moment Hagrid bashes down the door of the hut on the rock onwards. There will be Dumbledore bashing, and Ron/Ginny/Molly bashing. I doubt there will be a pairing in this fic, but if there is one it'll most likely be Harry/Tom Riddle. However it'll be a sideline, not a main theme. Possibly some Drarry elements.

**More A/N:** One last note, this first chapter includes both the prologue and chapter one. I would put them up separately but the prologue's only a few sentences so it's not really worth it.

**Prologue: The Hut on the Rock.**

"Absolutely not! He's not going to that awful place, and that is final." Petunia was adamant.

"I'd like ta see muggle's like yerselves stop 'im!" Hagrid retorted.

Petunia took a deep breath, lifting her head up to glare stubbornly at the gigantic man. "We are the boys legal guardians! If we say he's not going to that place, he is not. And that is final." She folded her arms stubbornly across her chest.

Harry was sat in the corner, thousands of thoughts flying around his head. From the day he was dumped on their doorstep, the Dursleys had pounded into his head how there was no such thing as magic. Furthermore, he'd seen no evidence to prove this was anything more than a cruel hoax, however impressive the huge man was.

Harry watched in silence as the man dug through his pockets, turning out all sorts of odds and ends before finally withdrawing a shabby looking quill and inkpot, and a scroll of parchment. He scribbled something down, all the while muttering about how Dumbledore would sort it all out. Folding the paper, he pulled out a battered barn owl out of his pocket and tied the note to its leg. "Take this to Dumbledore gal, an' be quick about it". All Harry could do was sit and stare as the owl winged its way off into the night.

Several tense hours later, the owl reappeared. The sun was just rising. Dudley snored; having fallen asleep after the adults conversation had finished. Hagrid fumbled, hastily opening the attached envelope. A shadow fell over his face. Grimacing he turned to Harry. "Harry, Dumbledore says yer aunt's right. The law's on 'er side, and we can't force 'em to let you come ter Hogwarts. But if yer ever need us, all yer need to do is ask." With a look of profound despair on his face, the massive man turned, and stomped out of the door.

Harry shook his head, still half asleep. _It's official, this is the weirdest day of my life._

* * *

**Chapter One: 6 Years Later**

The years passed slowly for Harry. Wearing his 'elephant-skin' uniform, he attended Stonewall High School. Though Dudley attended Smeltings, the rumours spread by him and the Dursley family continued and the memories of beatings from Dudley's gang, who mostly also went to Stonewall, kept Harry friendless.

Harry spent most of his free time studying, mentally preparing for that blessed day he would finally be able to leave No. 4, Privet Drive firmly in his past. He specialised at mathematics and science, however his true talents lay in Art and Design. Harry spent many hours working in sketchbooks that the kindly art technician gifted him. On Harry's fifteenth birthday, Uncle Vernon demanded Harry got himself an after-school job to 'help pay for his upkeep.' Harry didn't bother arguing; the one thing he learnt from life with the Dursley's was fighting back made life immeasurably harder.

During Harry's interview, Steve Johnson, the owner of the car shop had asked Harry why he wanted to work. Harry replied that his uncle wanted him to help with the bills. Allen had assumed that this meant Harry's family was 'ahem' monetarily challenged, and so had hired Harry on the spot. He had lived through many hardships growing up and seeing Harry brought back memories of the life he'd fought so hard to get out of. However, just days later Harry's uncle dropped him off in his shiny new company car and Steve realised something entirely different was going on. Over the next few weeks Steve's suspicions about Harry's home life grew and grew.

After speaking with Harry, not to mention the brief background check, Steve knew that the rumours of Harry's criminal past were nothing but that, rumours. He had a very strong feeling that the origin of these rumours may have been the Dursley family but had no evidence to back it up. Steve decided that he would do all that he could to help the polite teen. After much thought Steve decided to split Harry's pay cheque, giving half to him directly in cash and the other half to his Uncle as a cheque.

Over the next couple of years, Harry had saved up enough money that he believed with a student loan and possibly a supplementary scholarship that he would be able to attend University. Throughout the same time Harry found himself growing closer to Steve and the other men who worked in the garage. Steve and his wife had no children of there own and often invited Harry around after work, doting on him almost like a surrogate son. Harry also found two close friends in the other workers. Sam Bennet was twenty-nine and came from a rough neighbourhood. He had taken a vocational course in Motor Engineering, then had met Steve in a bar one night. Like with Harry, Steve had seen much of himself in Sam and hired him on the spot. David Carlson was somewhat older at 38, but still got on well with Harry. He was an experienced mechanic and whenever he had a spare minute enjoyed teaching Harry bits and pieces about his trade.

At the start of the summer before Harry's 16th birthday David turned up dragging a battered old 71' Jensen Intercepter behind his pick up. He claimed it was going to be Harry's summer project, something to work on whenever he had a spare minute or two. Harry didn't mind; he liked learning new things and was rapidly becoming bored in the monotony of the office paperwork. That summer, as his Birthday present, Steve taught Harry how to drive. It was a tense situation for Harry. They were using Steve car, and Harry was scared to death of something happening to it whilst he was at the wheel. He never properly relaxed until he was parked safely back at the shop.

Harry was the only one at the shop that was unaware that the car they were training him on was going to be given to him as a graduation present, even though that lay two years in the future. The car, now named Bolt, truly was a complete wreck. The bodywork was battered almost beyond recognition, the entire interior needed replacing from the upholstery to the radio and lets not even mention the engine.

He spent many hours toiling over it, putting in almost ridiculous amounts of overtime work. Two weeks before his Birthday, it was finally complete. The old Chrysler motor was restored to perfect condition, the bodywork was gleaming white and the upholstery was a glowing yellow. Harry was almost frantic, as he knew now it was finished it wouldn't be long before it was sold, and he'd come to love the car.

Harry's Seventeenth Birthday ended up falling on a Sunday. This was good, as the garage closed early on Sundays. Of course nobody had mentioned this to the Dursley's. Steve had booked the whole crew in at a local Gastro-Pub for the party. The guys knew Harry had never had a proper Birthday party before and were determined to give him a day to remember.

Completely blind to the scheming men around him, Harry went about his Birthday just like every other one. He stayed up till midnight, sang happy Birthday to himself under his sheets then went to sleep with the comforting thought that he only had 365 days left before he could leave to start the rest of his life. He awoke the next morning at 7am as always, had a quick shower, shave, and got dressed. When he was finished, he went downstairs to cook breakfast for the family. At 8.15 Dudley had finally finished his third helping of bacon, and Harry scuttled off to do the dishes. Dudley and Vernon got dressed up in their suits and headed off to Grunnings, where Vernon had managed to get Dudley a work experience placement.

Upon there departure, Harry headed upstairs and changed into his overalls for work. Sticking his head through the lounge door before leaving, Harry told his aunt "I'm not sure when I'll be back tonight, we've been really busy recently. I may have to mow the lawn tomorrow instead." Not even glancing at Harry, Petunia inclined her head a few millimetres, just enough to let Harry know he'd been heard.

20 minutes walk later Harry strolled into the garage, to be greeted by a pair of cheerful 'Happy Birthday's' from Sam and David.

"Thanks guys, you know where Steve is?" Harry asked

Sam shrugged, "pretty sure he's in the office. By the way that bloke who's Mini you tuned up the other day came back, left you a £30 tip. Said it was running better than it did when it was new!"

David whistled. "Christ Harry, keep it up like that and you're going to put me out of a job!"

Harry laughed "not any time soon I don't think! Be right back guys."

He knocked on Steve's office door and strolled in. He was sat at his desk, just listening to the end of a phone message. "Morning boss!"

"Ah Harry, just the lad I've been wanting to see. Happy Birthday son! I've been left an interesting message on my answerphone from a Mr Lupin, says he has something urgent that he needs to talk to you about and your Uncle refuse to let him get in contact with you." Steve said with a querying look.

"Mr Lupin you say? I don't recognize the name. Maybe it's something to do with school, though I don't see any reason for Vernon to stop him from getting a message to me." Harry looked confused.

"Well, you can find out tomorrow. Mr Lupin said he'd drop by the shop around 12, see if you're around." Steve said, smiling.

The day was a quiet one, and before too long the shop was closed up and the guys were all piling in the back of Steve's truck to head over to The Hammer & Tongs, the gastro-pub. Steve pulled him to the side, claiming he needed a quick word about work.

"So Harry, you've been working with us for exactly two years now, and I think it's pretty safe to say we all care about you a lot. Which is why, after a long chat with Michelle, we've decided to offer you a place to stay if you ever decide to move out from your Uncle's. We have a room free and any time you like you can just give us a call and bring your stuff over. I know this is a big deal so I thought I'd let you know in private to give you some time to think about it, without pressure from the lads." Steve said.

"…." Harry's jaw had almost hit the floor. "Th… Thankyou. You don't know how much this means to me, really. Thank you so much."

Steve smiled "It's no problem kiddo, you know me and 'Chelle practically think of you as our own. Now come on, we can't stand outside all day! Lets go get some grub."

Steve held the door open for Harry, who's jaw dropped once more as he entered. His co-workers and their partners had set up a little party for him! There was even a homemade banner above the table that read 'Happy Birthday Harry!' Harry was more than a little choked up, and had to swiftly clear his throat before he could say anything. "Wow. Just… Wow. Thanks guys."

Steve dragged Harry, who was practically frozen to the spot, over to their table, shoving him down in a chair. "Presents before, or after food?" He asked.

Sam immediately called out "before! Ordering takes soooo long, I want to see the look on his face when he opens ours!"

Steve chuckled, "Right then. Come on Dave, give me a hand getting them out the truck?"

They returned shortly later with a stack of brightly wrapped presents. Harry's eyes were so round they looked like they were going to pop out of their sockets. "Woah, thank you so much"

Sam grinned, "No problem little bro. It was the least we could do."

Harry was still in shock, shaking his head. "No, really. This is so much more than I expected."

"But no more than you deserved" Dave said with a smile. "I'm sure the food'll be out soon so get on the presents yeah?"

Harry ripped open an envelope and turned bright red.

"Come on man, it can't be that bad!" Steve exclaimed.

David peered over "Really Sam? Can you ever see Harry going to a strip club? Let alone using a £75 voucher?!"

Sam laughed, "Don't worry man, I got you a serious present too." He passed Harry another box.

"Man, this is heavy! What the hell is in this thing?" He shredded the wrapping. He sweat dropped. "You got me a nitro tank?! Sam, I don't even have a car?!"

Sam smirked, "You never know, you'll probably get a car before too long and then you'll be able to properly kit it out."

"Okay okay, the suspension's killing me. Here, this present's from all of us guys." Steve passed him a small box, with a smile.

Harry flipped the top. "… Oh my god… Oh. My. God. These keys are for Bolt. No way."

"Yes way man, now you've got a car to attach your nos to!" Sam exclaimed with a massive grin.

Steve smiled "You see that extra key? That's our front door. I meant what I said kid; we want you to move in. If not, any time you need a place to stay just come round."

"Thanks guys, I know I've said it a thousand times already but really. Thank you all so much. You don't know how much this means to me."

After the party drew to a close, Harry returned to the Dursley residence. It was past nine and Harry was exhausted so he decided to leave the lawn till the next day. He collapsed on his bed with a huge smile on his face, just as the sun was going down. All his hopes and dreams for the future, bouncing around his head. For one of the first times in his life, Harry was truly looking forward to tomorrow. His final thought before he fell asleep was of Remus Lupin, and what he wanted to talk about.

* * *

**A/N: **Hey guys! This is my first fanfiction. I've written a bit before and read tonnes but this is the first one I've actually uploaded.

I'm planning on getting the next chapter out in the next two days, maybe tomorrow.

Please please please read and review, it means a lot guys! Thanks a load!

~PurpleKnightShade


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